Tea Party
by HyperMint
Summary: A tea party on a slow day.


Disclaimer: I don't own.

AN: Happy Easter, everybody!

* * *

It was bad enough that there was nothing going on.

Duo sighed as he lay his head on the table.

Quatre looked over and smiled slightly before returning to his book. On Duo's right, Wufei was meditating on the floor and Trowa was sketching something in his notebook on his left. And Heero was…

Actually, Duo had no idea where Heero disappeared to. He'd been gone for some time, though.

"When was the last time anyone had seen Heero?" he leaned back in his chair at the small kitchen table that Quatre had bought a month after the house was completed.

The blond in question looked upwards in thought. "Not since this morning."

"He seemed to be researching something," Trowa offered. "I didn't ask."

Silence from Wufei's corner.

Duo crossed his arms and leaned them on the table in front of him.

Their Japanese friend had been acting somewhat off the last few days. Well, as off as he ever was.

There wasn't any Preventer type business, so the disappearing for hours at a time and constant research could only mean a personal mission.

As curious as Duo was, he didn't want to be nosy. If this was personal and Heero didn't involve the others, then it was only right that Duo respect that. And yeah, he would normally throw caution to the winds and dig his teeth into the mysterious activity surrounding the Japanese former Pilot, but…

He wasn't sure he had the energy – or drive – to go through with it. So, he was stuck wondering about it with the others.

Duo was just wondering if he wanted to get up and watch a movie he'd been meaning to see or wait for something to happen from the table when something did, indeed, happen.

"Anybody home?"

The four looked up to see Hilde waving at them from the cracked open kitchen window.

"Miss Hilde?" Quatre abandoned his book to let her in. "Good afternoon!"

"Hey, Hil," Duo waved at his best female friend. "What're you doing here?"

"As if you don't know," she grinned.

"Well, I can't say for them, but I may have a suspicion," Sally piped up, walking in from the living room and being trailed by a Maganac.

And it wasn't just Sally and Hilde, either.

Over the course of the next twenty minutes, Noin and Une appeared not too long after the first two.

"So, what's really going on?" Duo looked from one to the other.

"Heero called us and told us to come over," Sally told him.

"Any idea why?" Trowa wanted to know.

Wufei looked thoughtful as the others shook their heads.

Glancing out of the kitchen door, Hilde spotted Relena walking around the corner. "Hey, Relena. Let me guess. Heero called you and told you to come over."

The other girl had told them to leave her title outside of the house – one of the few places that she felt normal in – and they gamely agreed. Relena tilted her head. "Heero? What does he have to do with Cathy calling me to come over?"

"Cathy called you?" Trowa frowned. His sister figure had been equally as quiet of late as the Japanese pilot. Trowa hadn't thought anything of it, but now he was wondering.

"So," Noin looked around. "We're all here except Heero and Cathy."

"I'm smelling a set-up," Duo hopped onto the kitchen counter. "But a more unlikely pair of partners in crime I have never seen."

"But we don't know that," Quatre protested.

"We do, now," Sally quipped, pointing out the window.

Cathy and Heero were coming down the path to the kitchen door, bags in hand.

"Alright," Duo waited until the pair entered the kitchen. "What's going on?"

Cathy smiled widely as Trowa took the bags from her. "Why don't you all take a seat? It took us a while to make all of them."

"Make all of what?" Noin opened one of the bags and found little sandwiches arranged on a circular tray.

"Are those what I think they are?" Hilde nosed through a different bag and found little chocolate morsels.

"Help me unpack them," Cathy urged, already clearing the table.

It was about then that Relena glanced over to see what Heero was doing. "Oh, we're having tea, too?" she smiled slightly as she saw him prepare three teapots.

"Different blends," Cathy confirmed.

Duo helped Quatre get the small plates out and passed around for the others to pick theirs. Heero and Wufei took the cups with the different designs that Quatre had bought when the blond noticed the Asian pair sipping from coffee cups. He had immediately gone out to get them since it didn't seem right to have tea drank from the big cups.

He had grinned when Heero and Wufei had immediately put them to use.

The food was out and everyone settled in as Heero set one of the three pots along the length of the table, making it easier for everyone to take their drink from one.

"Well, this is a nice surprise," Une smiled slightly as she took a delicate nibble of a small sandwich triangle.

"Yeah, thanks, you two," Hilde grinned widely, stuffing two in her mouth.

"It was no trouble," Cathy smiled widely. "I had more than enough time to help Heero with his snacks. We went online and found a lot of good recipes. Heero even found tea recipes. Those are what we're drinking now."

Duo looked around and saw the others carefully pouring some tea into their cups and shrugged. The American wasn't a big fan of tea, but his best friend had made it for whatever reason so it (probably) won't kill him to try it this once.

Sighing, he looked between the pots and decided to try the one on his left.

"Acceptable, Yuy," Wufei nodded, giving the Japanese pilot a small smile.

"High praise," Sally picked up a different sandwich.

"It's all very good," Relena looked from Heero to Cathy. "When did this idea come about?"

"Well… It was last week, really. And all Heero's idea."

"Hey," Duo smiled widely. "This isn't half bad."

"It's not," Noin agreed.

"Which recipe is this one, Heero?" Quatre tapped the one closest to him. "I'd like to try it again."

"Cathy, these little desserts are awesome," Hilde enthused. "And look. Don't they kind of look like little eggs?"

The conversation went on, staying on light topics, as Cathy noticed something and leaned closer to Heero.

"Heero… I don't see anything even remotely like recognition."

He glanced at her and nodded. "I don't, either."

"You don't think… they don't know?"

Heero just sipped his tea.

What were the odds that the one that everyone around him called 'workaholic' was the one who actually knew that it was Easter today?

He glanced over at her again and gave her a knowing smile. "Happy Easter, Cathy."

She smiled back, having had fun making this Easter tea party, no matter that no one else seemed to get it. "Happy Easter, Heero."


End file.
